Project overview
This product is the press release service product webpage of on a public relations consulting online platform. This webpage aims to help users to understand consult and purchase press release service products online.
Bussiness goal
Press release service product is one of the products of wehour online service platform. The bussiness goal of the webpage is to enable customers to better understand detail of the press release service product, including the introduction of the service, package of the service, delivery process, payment process, to facilitate purchase of products from constermers.
First, let’s learn about the PR industry and press release services.
Public relations (PR) industry
Public relations (PR) refers to managing how others see and feel about a person, brand, or company. A PR consulting company might provide these service and business:
marketing and communication, corporate communication, crisis management, new brand building, corporate going overseas.
Press release service
Press release service is a common form of news that contains the functions above, and reaches the PR target. Usually there are four steps in a press release service business for both PR service provider and clients: Search for PR companies and find suitable one to collaborate; Starting the press release project, begin to communicate about delivery and payment in detail; sending and Receiving press release drafts and send comments to the PR company to modified; Decide the final draft, making payment and finish the project.
Initial problems in work
There is always situations and problems in the cooperation of press release service. When I was a intern in the PR company, I observed that my colleagues, who are PR service providers, facing various problems:
Struggle at finding information
My colleagues have to go through several deferent websites of PR companies, and feeling hard to find useful information that shows the ability and style of their press release draft.
Delivery Failure
My collegeas who write press release draft, have argued with clients about the modification comments and delivery dates about draft;
Disputes over money
They also can’t reach an agreement about payment, even if there is a number in the brief documents.
What causes these problems and how to solve it?
Exploring initial problems through interview
To deeply explore the problems about press release service, we held interviews with target users: some of our customers who had long term corporation of press release service webpage with us, usually works in the marketing or branding industry, or people who own a PR cpmpany, to talk about their problems and expectations about press release service.
Amy
I used to corporated with many PR companies for press release service, and sometimes I felt confused about the complex delivery process, for example, when we can get the first draft and the final version. Also the payment is not transparent, like, the refund when we are not satisfied and want to suspend the service. That can cause disputes over money, and effect the marketing or branding.
Bonnie
I am new to the marketing industry and be responsible for the communication with PR companies, and press release service takes a big part of my work. I usually feel difficult to select suitable PR companies or institutions because I am not familiar with their superiority in business. Some of them have their special features on the official websites but they still lack of specific press release samples.
John
I am the leader of a small PR studio, providing branding and marketing service for start-up companies. These days I am finding new customers and I feel it is difficult to advertise our studio. Moreover, I usually provide long-term customers with package of service, which includes mutiple service and it’s much cheaper than a single one. I wonder if there is a mature and standard system to publish my service product, so I won’t have to send customers documents everytime.
I use sticky notes to classify what interviewers said into what they does, feel, and appeal:
From the interview we know:
Our target users:
What is their frustration
- have trouble with the unclear delivery process and payment of press release service though traditional way of communication, like email or documents;
- feel hard to advertise themselves as a PR service provider;
What they want
- A better way to synchronize information of delivery and payment with customers / PR companies;
- a mature and standard system to publish PR service product
Building a virtual user by persona
After clarify and organize interviewers’ characteristics, we made a virtual target user persona:
Persona
Tina Li
About
Age: 23
Location: Shanghai, China
Position: Marketing
Personality:
Responsible, Careful, Friendly
“I want to easily learn about a PR company and successfully conduct press release bussiness with them, but there is a lot of communication barriers like delivery and payment details”
Goal
- Wants to easily learn about works and features of a PR company, to selected a suitable one to conduct bussiness;
- Want to perform the cooperation of press release service with PR companies effeicntly, receive press release draft on time, make the payment successfully
Frustrations
- Have trouble with the unclear delivery process and payment of press release service, having disagreement of due days with PR companies, cause money issues
- Feeling hard to find and look at specific press release samples of certain PR companies, and select suitable PR companies or institutions for a certain PR bussiness
Bio
Tina is a young lady works in marketing department in a global corporation. She often collaborate with PR companies in her work, especially press release. When she align with PR companies with press release deliverables, she usually facing problems like having trouble find suitable PR companies, can’t receive draft on time, causing money issues, etc. She hopes there is a new way of communication so she can solve/ ease the problems above.
Experiencing trouble with Tina through user journey map
Tina’s Journey Map
Through the user journey we know about Tina’s trouble:
- have trouble with finding and looking at features of PR companies, specific press release samples of certain PR companies, compare them and decide which to choose.
- have trouble receive drafts of high quality on time because of the lack of clear and updated information of delivery on both sides.
- probably cause economic dispute because haven’t reach agreement with PR companies on payment.
There is also opportunities:
- Put information of PR companies in one platform / in a certain format so it is easy to read and compare
- Connect companies directly in one platform
- Build a feedback system for submit drafts and add comments
- Put all delivery information, including requirements, due dates, and all payment information, including down and final payment policy in a document / platform that can update at real time on both sides
Reframing problems
From the research above (interview, persona, user journey map), we summarize the trouble in the collaboration process of press release service. We also find the deep reason of the trouble from these user research.
Initial problems
Deep reason
have trouble with finding and looking at specific press release samples of certain PR companies and compare them
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Lack of a standard way to display features and samples of PR companies, and also easy to compare them
have trouble receive drafts of high quality on time
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Lack of a standard way to update delivery details on both sides
probably cause economic dispute
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Lack of a clear way to updating payment details (down and final payment)on both sides
From problems to ideation
I began the brainstorm session based on the deep reason of “reframing problems”, and transfer it into “how might we” to find design ideas.
- deep reasons
- Lack of a standard way to display features and samples of PR companies, and also easy to compare them
- Lack of a standard way to update delivery details on both sides
- Lack of a clear way to updating payment details (down and final payment)on both sides
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How might we find a standard way to display features and samples of PR companies, show and updating delivery and payment details?
Brainstormming
I exploring design ideas grounded from “how might we”, and developed them from four aspects: way of display, display PR company information, display delivery information and display payment information.
I use the impact/efforts diagram to screen out and rank the priority of design ideas.
User flow
From the priority matrix, ideas in “easy win”(low effects and high impact) and “big bets”(high effects and high impact)are chosen to form the design solution. After listing these ideas in the order of user journey map, it becomes the user flow.
#1
Show a paragraph of intro of the PR company
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#2
Listing features of the PR company
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#3
Showing samples
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#4
Showing packages
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#5
Showing timeline of delivery
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#6
Showing process of payment
Finding inspirations in Competition audits
In order to refer to the content composition and layout of the press release page, 99Design, a foreign designer receiving platform which is also a service provider/buyer, and media box, a domestic media service provider, are selected and analyzed as competition audits.
99 Design.com
99 Design is an order taking/service purchase platform for freelancers and well-known designers with a wide range of design services, high quality design works, and mature service purchase and delivery process.
Meijiaxia.cn
Meijiexia is a domestic well-known public relations and media service platform in China, providing a wide range of services, a large number of media docking, very authoritative in public relations and marketing.
I create a chart to analyze and compare these two competitive products from different aspects: target users, user experience, structure, etc.
Findings
From this chart and scoring we found that 99 design and Meijiaxia has their pros and cons. Their advantages can be used as inspirations of this press release project, such as the “how it works” page, standard layout of product page of 99design, and support staff of Meijiaxia.
Information Architecture
Information Architecture is built based on selected ideas above:
I use “Crazy eight” to brainstorm the layout of each part in IA, as the preparation of wireframe.
Usability testing
We hold a usability testing to on wireframes, and here is the note of the testing, including tasks, observation, quotes of participants, and their scoring about task completion.
We summarize the comments of participants and modified the wireframe and prototypes based on the comments:
#1 Introduction modification
Before
After
“It is not easy to find the characteristics and features of the company at a glance.”
“Also reading a long paragraph is a little bit annoying. So it is not efficient enough for me to extract useful information about PR companies.”
We change the paragraph of introduction of PR companies to six set of icons and sentences standing for “advantages” , so clients would easily learn about the superiority of the company, and more likely to choose them for press release bossiness.
#2 package modification
Before
After
“I wish I can check more information of writers, especially their works, to see how experienced he/she is, so I can make better decision about which level of writers to choose afterwards.”
“It would be better if I see the package in the beginning, so i can make desicion earlier.”
We put the “package” in the very beginning of the webpage, so clients who are not the first time see the website would quickly purchase the service;
Before “samples”, we add a new session “know our writer”, showing writers of three levels mentioned in the package. If click on the “see more” button, clients can see writer’s experience and works below, so they can make decision of which level of writers to choose easier.
#3 delivery process modification
Before
After
“Though this chart listed steps of delivery process and what partyA and partyB should do i which step, I find the chart is too complex and hard to understand at a glance, so it may effect my action in the real delivery process.”
We change the delivery process from a chart to a flow, and some unnecessary details are deleted, so clients will understand what they should do at a glance.
Final Prototype
